CLASSICAL
CURRICULUM
Our Academic Approach
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Students at Chesterton Academy network schools enjoy cohesive, content-rich education. A broad exposure to many different disciplines helps students expand their interests and uncover hidden talents, while deep mastery of these disciplines provides a solid academic foundation. Each year builds on the previous, so that by the end of senior year, our students are articulate, clear-thinking, well-rounded, and, very importantly, joyful individuals. Click here to view the course catalog.
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Chesterton Academy students fare very well on entrance exams, are accepted to top universities, and receive many scholarships. Top colleges and business leaders are seeking those who have received a classical education because of their solid understanding, important character traits, as well as their ability to think, reason, problem-solve, and communicate well. Using a combination of the Socratic method and traditional lecture, professors teach logic and the art of respectful dialogue with humility and charity, which our future generations will need more than ever.
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The Humanities
Study Sequence
History, literature, philosophy, theology, and Latin are woven together in an integrated curriculum utilizing the Socratic Method.
LITERATURE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE
The study of literature is integral to the study of history and the rest of the humanities. Great questions about society and mankind's role in it are raised in literature. Archetypal images of beauty and goodness, and their opposites, are encountered. Students will explore themes of love and redemption, sin and its consequences through reading and discussion of works by authors who are masterful storytellers.
The study of a foreign language is required of all students for four years. The study of Latin has been an important part of a Catholic education for hundreds of years as it has the effect of forming and training the mind to appreciate the relationship of the parts to the whole. Latin has been elevated for use in the Catholic Church, features prominently in liturgical music. The Church considers this to be a “treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 112)
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HISTORY
The history classes at Chesterton Academy form the backdrop for much of the discussion around the themes of each academic year. The four-year history sequence covers ancient history through the modern era and gives the students a perspective and foundation that is comprehensive, allowing them to confidently engage with the questions and dilemmas posed by our post-modern world.
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PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy, “the love of wisdom,” exercises the brain while it elevates the soul. We use philosophy to connect the humanities, but also to show its obvious connection to logic and mathematics. We study the development of philosophy from its classical roots in Plato and Aristotle, its dramatic encounter with the early Church, its christening by St. Thomas Aquinas, and its neglect in the modern era.
THEOLOGY
Theology, “the study of God,” is the context by which all other texts are studied. The principal theological texts studied are the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We also read selections from the Church Fathers, Documents of the Church Councils, and Papal Encyclicals. It is in the study of theology that students are introduced to the metaphysical aspect of reality, which is so often denied in the modern world, and which offers the greatest gift: an encounter with a good and loving Father who will redeem and make whole everyone who says yes to His divine plan.
Math & Science
Math and science are intimately connected; the logic of math is seen in philosophy and God’s handiwork is seen in the sciences.
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Mathematics
While math is woven together with the sciences, it is also connected to the humanities. It teaches logic, which is a basic philosophical principle. It teaches balance, which is a basic aesthetic principle. Math at Chesterton Academy covers Euclidean geometry and algebra, all the way through advanced Calculus.
Science
None of these subjects can be approached without a sense of wonder. It is fitting, therefore, to begin by looking up at the heavens, at the lights in the sky: Astronomy. Then we take a look at the world God created (Geology), the creatures he created (Biology), and the intricate substances of which all things are made (Chemistry). We end by gaining an understanding of the nature and properties of matter and energy (Physics).
C-Stem Mathematics Track
Because some students will inevitably be called to a deeper professional involvement in the art of mathematics , we offer a courses that advance into the deeper wonder of the order of our world in line with STEM professions ions, which includes:
Euclidean/Analytical Geometry - Pre-Calculus - Calculus (AP Calc AB) - Calculus (AP Calc BC)
Study Sequence
Fine Arts
Study Sequence
Equal emphasis is given to the arts, so that every student learns to draw and paint, sing in the choir, act on the stage, give speeches, and engage in debate.
Music
Music appeals to the ear and the mind, the emotions and the intellect, the senses and the spirit. Chesterton Academy students are exposed to a wide variety of music that they perform chorally several times a year.
art
A complete education must include the development of the creative nature. Participation in the visual arts provides students the tools and techniques to express their ideas, their feelings and their love. Education must also include the historical knowledge and analytical skills with which to judge a work of art. Finally, the mechanical skills and the aesthetic aptitude must be put into the proper context of eternal Truth. A good artist is a complete thinker and vice versa.
Drama
The dramatic arts are particularly powerful in our present culture where movies and the media are often the primary source of knowledge and ideas for many young people. Drama involves the study of how words are brought to life, and in order to successfully do this on stage the actor must learn to see the work as a whole, to understand the author’s vision and the time in which it was written. In other words, the actor must learn to be a good literary critic, philosopher, and historian.
Performance
Chesterton Academy students participate in the planning and performance of the the dramatic arts. Students in 10th through 12th grade focus on both comedy and tragedy. Seniors study and perform Shakespeare as well.
Drama reinforces the information students learn in the classroom through active participation in its performance.